5-10-06

Walpole Planning Board Conflicts Flare in Berkshire Development Review

By Charles C. Bingaman, Contributing Writer

            Angry personal and philosophical differences on the Walpole Planning Board flared Tuesday evening as members struggled to find a response to Berkshire Development’s proposal to build a 70,000 square foot commercial building south of the current North Meadow Plaza strip mall and were threatened with an injunction suit to disqualify three members over conflicts of interest.

            Speaking for the citizens group Walpole Tomorrow, Walpole attorney Nathan Lynch asked the board to disqualify member Henry Fletcher and alternates Fred Dill and David Edkins from participating in the discussion or decision on the Berkshire proposal because they own land in the town’s commercial zone.  Lynch said he hoped that the board could resolve the matter “by internal housekeeping.” The alternative to the members’ recusing themselves or the board disqualifying them from participating in the matter, said Lynch, was an injunction action in the Cheshire County Superior Court that he intended to file this week or next.

            Board chair Jeff Miller ruled that only board members themselves could, under New Hampshire statutes, raise conflict of interest issues and that, because no Board member had done so, the issue was mute.  But before Miller could issue his ruling, Edkins had demanded a closed executive session because the Board “had been threatened with litigation” and further demanded that Board members Eric Merklein and Ben Daviss and alternate Ray Boas should be disqualified for their membership in Walpole Tomorrow.  (Merklein replied that Edkins himself had been listed as a Walpole Tomorrow member and that Merklein had asked three times that his name be removed from the Walpole Tomorrow member list.  Boas noted that he had attended one meeting of the group more than 18 months ago and had taken no part in its activity since.  And Edkins said that his name was no longer on the roll as of 4:00 p.m. Tuesday.)

            Under unfinished business, Berkshire Development architectural, engineering and traffic consultants showed examples of building materials being considered and summarized minor changes in the planned development based on suggestions made in the April Planning Board meeting. 

Walpole resident Joe Dion asked whether it was appropriate for the Board to listen to details of the Berkshire proposal before it had determined whether the proposal could even be considered under Walpole’s zoning ordinance limit of 40,000 square feet for new commercial buildings.  Board chair Miller replied that Dion had “made a good point brought up at the appropriate time.”  But later, when Dion pressed for an answer to his question, Miller said “we’ll deal with it at the proper time” without further explanation.

The proper time had apparently arrived for Board member Bob Miller (no relation to Jeff Miller).  “It seems to me,” he argued, “that this Board is going to have to take a stand on ‘building or establishment’”, referring to the unresolved question whether Walpole’s 40,000 square foot limit refers to the size of permitted buildings or simply the size of permitted businesses within them with no limit on overall size.  Chairman Miller, noting that “the Board really hasn’t finalized its feelings one way or another” on that essential point, asked whether the Board was prepared to take a vote. 

After some discussion, the Board agreed to meet for an extraordinary “working session” at 7:30 p.m. May 23 and to ask its attorney, Peter Heed of Westmoreland, to provide it with some legal guidance at or by that time.

In other business, Walpole resident David Westover, asked the Board for a recommendation to the Walpole Zoning Board that he be granted a special use exception to allow a manufacturing operation in an commercial zone, as required by the zoning ordinance.  Westover explained that he and associates Tom and Charlotte Beaudry were forming a business, Walpole Creamery, to be based at 426 Main Street, Walpole, to make high quality ice cream from local milk sources.  The Board voted unanimously to make the recommendation to the Zoning Board.